Chepstowe Fires near Ballarat. Fires on Station Lane where three homes were lost. Photo: Justin McManus

Chepstowe Fires near Ballarat. Cargnham Station burns on into the night the historic Villa was completely destroyed in the fires. Photo: Justin McManus

Chepstowe Fires near Ballarat. Cargnham Station burns on into the night the historic Villa was completely destroyed in the fires. Photo: Justin McManus

Chepstowe Fires near Ballarat. Fires on Station Lane where three homes were lost. Photo: Justin McManus

Chepstowe Fires near Ballarat. Fires on Station Lane where three homes were lost. Photo: Justin McManus

Chepstowe Fires near Ballarat. Fires on Station Lane where three homes were lost. One of the homes. Photo: Justin McManus

The Sand Hills fire east of Canberra, East of Bungendore. Firefighters desperately attempt to prevent tge fire leaping the Kings highway, the main road between Canberra and the South coast of NSW. Photo: Chris Hammer

The Sand Hills fire east of Canberra, East of Bungendore. Firefighters desperately attempt to prevent tge fire leaping the Kings highway, the main road between Canberra and the South coast of NSW. Photo: Chris Hammer

Chepstowe fire near Ballarat. Photo: Adam Trafford

Chepstowe fire near Ballarat. Photo: Adam Trafford

RFS crew wait on Kybeyan Road near Nimmitabel for further instruction as the fires are blown closer to their position. Photo: Jay Cronan

A fire bombing plane sits at the ready at the Illawarra Regional Airport. Photo: Dave Tease

Police man a road block at a brushfire at Berry St, Lithgow. January 9, 2013. Photo by Mick Tsikas

Community meeting at Snake Valley Community hall in the aftermarth of yesterdays fire in Carngham near Ballarat. Locals comfort each other at the meeting. Photo: Wayne Taylor

Community meeting at Snake Valley Community hall in the aftermarth of yesterdays fire in Carngham near Ballarat. Locals give firemen a hug. Photo: Wayne Taylor

Crews work to contain fires near Bungendore. Picture taken from the Kings Highway on January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson

Fire fighters from the Rural Fire Service help extinguish a grass fire in Bowning, New South Wales.

A burnt fence and letterbox on Hazeldell Rd, near Bungendore on January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson

A water bombing helicopters work to control bushfire next to the Kings Highway near Bungendore. January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson.

A water bombing helicopters work to control bushfire next to the Kings Highway near Bungendore. January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson.

A water bombing helicopters work to control bushfire next to the Kings Highway near Bungendore. January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson.

Burnt land on Hazeldell Rd, near Bungendore on January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson

Lewis Conn and Chris Powell discuss the fires at the Kings Highway near Bungendore on January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson.

Crews work to contain fires near Bungendore. Picture taken from the Kings Highway on January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson

Vincent Lorimer breaks for some water at the Kings Highway near Bungendore on January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson

A note left by the RFS at a home on Hazeldell Rd, near Bungendore, after the residents lent the helicopter crew a tool to repair the helicopter on January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson.

An RFS helicopter crew member knocks to return a borrowed repair tool to a home on Hazeldell Rd, near Bungendore on January 9, 2013. Photo: Rohan Thomson.

Firefighters have been backburning overnight to try and contain several major bushfires across NSW, taking advantage of the cool temperature before hot, windy weather sets in again.

There are 126 bushfires burning across the state, including 15 that are not contained, on Thursday morning.

Over 1000 Rural Fire Service volunteers are working, using more than 80 firefighting aircraft and 360 trucks.

A bushfire burning 8km south west of Naradhan, north of Griffith in New South Wales. Photo: AFP/NSW Rural Fire Service

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said firefighters are trying to contain the blazes before dangerous fire conditions return on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Crews were backburning at the Deans Gap fire, in the Shoalhaven on Wednesday night, but it has not been contained.

That fire has burnt through more than 5700 hectares of land.

Residents in Wandandian, Sussex Inlet, and those south of the coastal villages, are advised to remain vigilant and keep up to date with information.

Firefighters also spent the night backburning at the Cobbler Road fire, near Yass, to establish and strengthen containment lines around the blaze, which has burnt through 14,000 hectares and killed thousands of animals.

A bushfire continues to burn about 20 kilometres east of Cooma, in the state's south, and residents are advised to stay informed.

A fire at Lithgow, which police believe was deliberately lit, is under control, but smoke is still affecting the town and the Bells Line of Road.

Mr Fitzsimmons said people in bushfire prone areas need to stay alert, and not always expect a warning message from the RFS.

"Some fires will start, they will take hold and they will spread so quickly that they could be impacting on people before someone's even had a chance to report it to triple-0, or certainly before the fire engine is able to get on scene," he said.

"Until someone's got that crystal ball that can tell us exactly where that fire is going to be, and start, and exactly what time it's going to be, that's a reality of life."

Total fire bans are in place in the North Western and Northern Slopes regions.